


Balaena

by Sharcade



Category: The Yogscast
Genre: Comfort, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Panic Attacks, Phobias, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Whale Lords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-05 06:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18360887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharcade/pseuds/Sharcade
Summary: The Dwarven Stronghold is unbelievably grandiose. Towering statues, cryptic histories, swaths of monsters - there's endless secrets to unearth. Honeydew seems thrilled about it and Xephos can't exactly blame him, but there are certain parts of the adventure that the spaceman isn't particularly thrilled about.





	Balaena

"They couldn't think of a better name?" Lalna grumbled timidly. "Khaz Dogdik?"

"Not very flattering," Sjin quipped.

"Don't mock my ancestry."

"Don't mock Honeydew's Dogdik ancestry, guys. Dogdik is a really big part of Honeydew. Dogdik is near and dear to his heart. It's inside of him. He's full of Dogdik."

"Thanks, Sips."

Xephos heard Lalna laugh loudly, the sound echoing through the dark expanses of the castle. The sound went in one ear and out the other, Xephos barely processing it. He wasn't with the rest of the group - he had gone off ages ago to loot redstone from inside the castle walls and he had actually gathered quite a haul. The energetic substance coated his fingers, tingling vaguely on his skin and seeming to pulse with vivid energy. Typically, it was a sensation he enjoyed quite a bit, but at the moment it was overstimulating, clouding his head like a painful fog. Xephos had bigger concerns right now.

The darkness around him was oppressive. He had never been somewhere quite as dark as this. The expanse of black went on for miles - endless darkness above him, black waters below him. The unknown squirmed with monsters, growling and hissing as he let his mind become lost in its tenebrae. His hands were cold and shaking, a lump in his throat refusing to be swallowed as the chills began to take over his body. It was too dark, far too dark, and he was alone. His powdery fingers glowed lightly with throbbing red. His bioluminescent face contrasted blue. 

"Are you sure we're going the right way, Lalna?" Honeydew pressed from somewhere above him. "I feel like we're going a little off the beaten path here."

"I'm just following the tracks, mate."

The darkness appeared to be writhing before him, lurching and moaning with hungry creatures that groped at him from the water below. He had come up through the water in the first place - a terrifying experience - but now the monsters were hoarded at his feet and there was no way he could take that way out. He'd have to break his way out through the walls, it was the only option, and yet his hands still shook too pitifully for him to hold his axe steady.

This had happened a few times before to Xephos - dark spots had crept into his vision, his breath coming too quick and leaving his lungs pained as his senses became overloaded - he was used to panic attacks right now. He would have them, Honeydew would sit with him and help him breathe, and then he would feel alright again. He was alone now. Honeydew was miles above him, teetering on a flimsy wooden bridge with the rest of the crew.

It only took another ravenous wail from the darkness for something in Xephos to crack. He had expected a panic attack, so this wasn't particularly surprising, but his bitter annoyance at his predictable circumstances failed to combat his growing terror. He was starting to hyperventilate. The air was thick and rotten in his lungs. The spaceman clapped a hand over his mouth, choking back a sob as gnarled hands clawed at his boots. Xephos staggered backwards, pressing himself into the creaky wooden walls behind him as his chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Do you hear that?"

He fought another strained sob, the sound coming out as more of a whine as tears rolled down his face, streaming down his neck and being absorbed into the hem of his shirt. His legs were shaking far too much - he sunk to the ground, wheezing quietly.

"Can barely hear bloody anything over the monsters," Lalna scoffed, kicking at a spider that had crawled its way up onto the bridge. "The things are everywhere."

"No, no," Honeydew mused cautiously. "Something else."

Their words barely registered to Xephos, the cries of monsters blaring in his ears as the wet hands of zombies dug their nails into the cliffside. He just needed to breathe, he couldn't  _breathe._

"You had to have heard it that time."

"Yeah, I heard it that time too," Sips joined. "Down in the water."

"Is Xephos still in here?" Sjin inquired.

"Xephos would never come in here," Lalna chided. "It's way too dark, he'd hate it."

  _He needed to breathe._

Another quiet whine left Xephos as the face of a zombie emerged from beneath the jagged rocks, the creature pulling itself on to the small platform Xephos was situated on. Tears and sobs caught in his throat and choked him, the monster edging closer to him as he willed himself to move, just move, just  _move._ He could kill this thing easily, it was one zombie, he just had to  _move._

"Please," he croaked, his voice high and strained and  _begging._

"Lalna, that was  _definitely_ a voice, somebody's down there," Honeydew argued, steadying himself against Sips as the wood creaked beneath his feet. "We can't just leave 'em."

"You want to jump down there?" Sjin questioned, his mouth agape in horror. "Into the dark? With all the monsters? You'll die."

"We've all got weapons," Honeydew stated pointedly. "It's a few monsters. There's four of us."

"I'd be down," Sips yawned, slinging an arm around Honeydew. "If this bastard's got a plan, I'm always ready for some fun."

Their voices were like a safety net to Xephos. As long as he could still hear them, he was alive and breathing - well, alive. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult, his panic manifesting like a hand around his windpipe. The zombie crawled closer. Xephos stared at its hollow eyes, the unknown fluids dripping from its various pores and wounds, it was  _disgusting,_ and it was crawling out of the dark.

The wriggling, moaning, pitch black dark.

"Please!" he cried out in alarm, his sobs finally breaking free as a flurry of tears and cries. "P-Please!"

"Xephos?!"

"Holy shit, what is he doing down there?!"

"Jump!"

"Jump?! From here?!"

"I'm your acting captain, Lalna! Jump!"

If there was a sound when his crew hit the water, Xephos didn't hear it. His heart was pounding in his ears, his breath coming far too quickly, the spaceman choking down air like it would somehow save him from the nightmare he was experiencing, like it would somehow pull him back to reality.

"Woah, Jesus!" Sips cried out as he dug his sword into the zombie, breaking Lewis' focus as he flung the slain creature back into the water. "Silk-Shirt?!"

"He's hyperventilating," Lalna began, frowning as he hurried over to Xephos. "Shit, Honeydew, get over here."

"Coming, one second," the dwarf strained, scrambling up onto the platform and kicking away a creeper. "Christ, there's so many monsters - Is he alright?"

"I really don't think so," Sips mumbled, furrowing his brow slightly. "Not from where I'm standing."

"Shit, hold on, back up," Honeydew muttered, hurrying to Xephos' side and dropping to his knees. "Xeph, hey, it's Honeydew, it's me. Focus on my voice, friend."

"Set up a few torches around here," Sips muttered to Sjin as the farmer joined them on the rocks.

Xephos' thoughts were swirling. Honeydew. Honeydew was there, Honeydew was safety, Honeydew was comfort.

"Breathe with me, okay buddy? Just breathe with me."

_Breathe. Breathe. Breathe._

"I-I can't," Xephos choked out in a sob, his shoulders shaking with effort. "I can't breathe, I-I-"

"You can breathe, just follow me."

In. Out. In. Out.

He found himself falling into a rhythm as he watched his companion.

"There you go, you're okay," Honeydew assured, offering a small smile. "Look, it's bright now, yeah? Sjin's set up a few torches."

"I-I ran out," Xephos explained hastily. "I ran out of torches, Honeydew."

"I figured. You put 'em bloody everywhere."

"Are you alright then?" Lalna interjected worriedly, dropping down on the other side of Xephos. "Had us worried there."

Xephos took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he struggled to compose himself.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Just had a bit of a slip there."

"Why'd you come in here alone?" Sips questioned, allowing himself to plop down in front of Xephos lazily. "I'm sure somebody woulda come with you if you had asked."

"None of you do bloody  _anything_ ," Lewis scoffed, folding his arms as Honeydew wiped the tears from his face dotingly. "I came down to get redstone, I figured none of you would be interested in something  _productive._ "

"Sometimes Lalna does things," Sjin quipped, sitting down next to Sips and placing a torch in the middle of their little circle.

"Yeah, I do things."

"Would you have wanted to come get redstone?"

"Mmmmmmaybe? Probably not."

"Exactly," Xephos muttered, not bothering to swat away Lalna's hand as he joined Honeydew in wiping the spaceman's tears and straightening out his hair.

"But you're okay, right?" Sjin rejoined. "You're not hurt or anything? You feel alright?"

"I'm alright, Sjin."

"Do you want us to finish up in here?" Sips added casually. "Sjin and I can get the rest of the redstone. We're fucking  _experts_ at menial tasks that require next to no real skill or effort. We'll clean this place out  _real_ quick."

"That'd be lovely," Xephos chuckled breathlessly, straightening out his jacket.

"We'll take you back up," Honeydew commented. "Lalna and I know the way. We'll take you through the wall, the water's fucking horrid."

"Thank you," Xephos smiled gently. "All of you."

"Whatever, you big suck," Sips yawned. "Just get outta here. Go nap or somethin'."

"Right."


End file.
